3 ms·

Communicating in a non-native language is difficult even if you know it well. It doesn't come naturally and is taxing on the brain

icelancer 7y ago
Fair enough. I definitely understand that. Don't go out of your way if it's too much work, but everyone thinks your English is quite clear.
segmondy 7y ago
Then write it up in your native language first then translate or ask for help in translating.
tehlike 7y ago
That is one hell of a way to improve it though. I wrote lame articles years ago, to explain technical work i did on castle and nhibernate. Made me better over time.
abdusco 7y ago
Certainly. I'm a non-native speaker myself and although the end result looks somewhat convincing, it takes me an inordinate amount of time to write, look up words and proofread the text. I'd guess a native would come up with a comprehensible text at the first try, and it'd take a few tweaks until it looks immaculate. The reason non-natives seem to write better is that we simply spend more time working on it, and fix a lot of mistakes. Just now, writing this, I had to look up if the saying went "inordinate amount" or "unordinate amount". The difference between "pristine" and "immaculate". It really adds up when writing longer texts.
- edraferi 7y ago
  Regularly consulting reference materials and editing your work are hallmarks of a good writer. It enables continuous improvement. For what it’s worth, I think your examples are nuanced questions about fairly sophisticated terms. I look up similar things all the time, and I am a native English speaker, have a first-class education, and write regularly for my day job. Don’t sell yourself short!
- wool_gather 7y ago
  Agree with the existing reply, and I appreciate that the effort is significant for you. But it's also worth noting that everybody would have still gotten your meaning if you'd swapped that 'i' for a 'u'. In a technical document a subtlety like that is important; in a forum post, things can slide around a bit. I'm a native speaker and I'm sure I make mistakes like that. Certainly I do in speech.

icelancer 7y ago

Fair enough. I definitely understand that. Don't go out of your way if it's too much work, but everyone thinks your English is quite clear.

segmondy 7y ago

Then write it up in your native language first then translate or ask for help in translating.

tehlike 7y ago

That is one hell of a way to improve it though. I wrote lame articles years ago, to explain technical work i did on castle and nhibernate. Made me better over time.

abdusco 7y ago

Certainly. I'm a non-native speaker myself and although the end result looks somewhat convincing, it takes me an inordinate amount of time to write, look up words and proofread the text. I'd guess a native would come up with a comprehensible text at the first try, and it'd take a few tweaks until it looks immaculate. The reason non-natives seem to write better is that we simply spend more time working on it, and fix a lot of mistakes. Just now, writing this, I had to look up if the saying went "inordinate amount" or "unordinate amount". The difference between "pristine" and "immaculate". It really adds up when writing longer texts.

edraferi 7y ago
Regularly consulting reference materials and editing your work are hallmarks of a good writer. It enables continuous improvement. For what it’s worth, I think your examples are nuanced questions about fairly sophisticated terms. I look up similar things all the time, and I am a native English speaker, have a first-class education, and write regularly for my day job. Don’t sell yourself short!
wool_gather 7y ago
Agree with the existing reply, and I appreciate that the effort is significant for you. But it's also worth noting that everybody would have still gotten your meaning if you'd swapped that 'i' for a 'u'. In a technical document a subtlety like that is important; in a forum post, things can slide around a bit. I'm a native speaker and I'm sure I make mistakes like that. Certainly I do in speech.